Blue Dancer Alpine Clematis Plants

Clematis alpina Blue Dancer: Pot Grown Climbing Plants

Quite long, lavender blue flowers in April-May, maturing into attractive seedheads. To 2.5m

Browse all of our Clematis.

Delivery season: Clematis are delivered in pots year round, when in stock. It is usually best not to plant out pot grown plants in winter, but to keep them until Spring, because they will establish faster in warm soil and give you better first year growth.
Choosing a size: Small plants are cheaper and more forgiving of less than ideal aftercare, so they are best for a big planting project. If instant impact is your priority, or if you are only buying a few plants for ornamental use in a place where it is convenient to water them well in their first year, then you may as well use bigger ones. All our climbing plants come in standard pot sizes.

Features:

• Size: 2.5m
• Pale lavender blue, nodding.
• Flowers: April-May
• Silky seedheads
• Type: Atragene
• Habit: Patio Climber
• Pruning group 1
• RHS Plants for Pollinators

Growing Blue Dancer Clematis

It will be happiest in alkaline or neutral soil. Hardy and wind resistant, it is suitable for the coast.

Like many coloured varieties, its flowers have richer colour in partial shade.

Did You Know?

There are two versions of Blue Dancer's origin. According to the International Clematis Register and Checklist, J Boland bred it at Valley Clematis around 1995. Robin Savill, however, says that it was bred by Raymond Evison some ten years earlier.

Blue Dancer (Danseuse Bleu) is a 1912 futurist painting by Gino Severini (1883-1966).

How to grow Clematis Alpina 'Willy':

Clematis Alpina 'Willy' can be grown easily following the Clematis planting notes.

All clematis require a cool moist root run as the roots are delicate and can easily be 'burnt'. In a hole considerably larger than the root ball, put some good garden or multipurpose compost mixed with grit at the bottom to a depth of 3 or 4 inches.

Place the clematis in the hole, sprinkle some Root Grow around the roots and backfill with compost making sure that the plant is set at least 3" below the new soil level. By burying some of the plant stem in this fashion it ensures new root growth and helps prevent the occurrence of clematis wilt. If the plant is in full sun, shade around the roots with slates or broken pot.

In the first year cut all stems back to 30cm in February - after that no pruning is required just the removal of dead or dying material.